With 1/1 odds from our 30 movie Experts, Denzel Washington (“Fences”) is predicted to win Best Actor at Sunday’s Academy Awards. Washington plays Troy Maxson, an overbearing husband and father wrestling with personal demons. Washington won the SAG Award for this performance, and when he played the role on stage in 2010 he also won a Tony. Counting his nomination for Best Picture as a producer of the film, Washington has been nominated for eight Oscars, winning twice: Best Supporting Actor for “Glory” (1989) and Best Actor for “Training Day” (2001).
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Sixteen of our 30 Experts are predicting a Washington victory: Eric Deggans (NPR), Bonnie Fuller (Hollywood Life), Tim Gray (Variety), Michael Hogan (Vanity Fair), Dave Karger (Fandango), Tariq Khan (Fox News), Tom O’Neil (Gold Derby), Kevin Polowy (Yahoo), Christopher Rosen (Entertainment Weekly), Paul Sheehan (Gold Derby), Nicole Sperling (Entertainment Weekly), Sasha Stone (Awards Daily), Brian Truitt (USA Today), Adnan Virk (ESPN), Glenn Whipp (LA Times) and Susan Wloszczyna (RogerEbert.com).
In a very close second place is Casey Affleck (“Manchester by the Sea”) with 5/4 odds; the 14 Experts picking him to win are Thelma Adams (Gold Derby), Matt Atchity (Rotten Tomatoes), Erik Davis (Fandango), Edward Douglas (Weekend Warrior), Joyce Eng (TV Guide), Pete Hammond (Deadline Hollywood), Matthew Jacobs (Huffington Post), Scott Mantz (Access Hollywood), Jack Mathews (Gold Derby), Michael Musto (Out.com), Keith Simanton (IMDb), Anne Thompson (IndieWire), Peter Travers (Rolling Stone) and Jeffrey Wells (Hollywood Elsewhere).
Oscar Best Picture Gallery: History of Every Academy Award-Winning Movie
Affleck is nominated for playing Lee Chandler, a Massachusetts handyman who has to reckon with a tragedy from his past in order to take care of his teenage nephew. For this performance Affleck won Critics’ Choice, Golden Globe and BAFTA Awards. He was also honored by the National Society of Film Critics and the New York Film Critics Circle. This is Affleck’s second Oscar nomination following a supporting bid for “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” (2007).
Much further behind are Ryan Gosling (“La La Land”) with 50/1 odds, Andrew Garfield (“Hacksaw Ridge”) with 66/1 odds, and Viggo Mortensen (“Captain Fantastic”) with 80/1 odds. Gosling is a past Best Actor nominee for “Half Nelson” (2006), and Mortensen is a past nominee for “Eastern Promises” (2007). Garfield is the only first-time nominee in this category.
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However, according to our overall combined odds featuring the predictions of all Experts, Editors, Top 24 Users (those who did the best at their winner picks last year), All-Star Top 24 (who got the best predictions scores when you combine the last two years’ results), and All Users, the predictions are quite different as of this writing. The favored pick of over 2,200 people is Affleck with 10/9 odds over Washington with 6/5 odds. Gosling follows with 25/1 odds, and then Garfield at 66/1 and Mortensen at 80/1.
Predict the Oscar winners now; change them till February 26
Be sure to make your Oscar predictions. Weigh in now with your picks so that Hollywood insiders can see how their films are faring in our Oscar odds. You can keep changing your predictions right up until just before winners are announced on February 26 at 5:00 pm PT/8:00 pm ET. And join in the fierce debate over the Oscars taking place right now with Hollywood insiders in our forums.
